SOME MAYMYO BIRDS. 587 



crests, so it was clear they had a nest somewhere near. The cause of the 

 disturbance seems to have been a troop of monkeys in the jungle below, 

 which on our approach disappeared. Soon after this the birds quieted down, 

 one going into the next tree where it settled on the nest, which was placed 

 near the extremity of a branch, quite a hundred feet above ground, looking 

 very like a large King-Crow's nest. I sent my Burmans up the tree to 

 see if anything could be done ; they fortunately managed to get above the 

 nest and reported two eggs, also saying owing to the thinness of the 

 bough it would be impossible to reach the nest ; we then returned to the 

 village to try and make arrangements. One of the Burmans produced a 

 piece of black sticky bees' wax, and proceeded to demonstrate his plan, by 

 picking up with the aid of the wax a large hen's egg at the end of a long 

 bamboo. Our plan was then to use an old cap placed at the end of another 

 bamboo as a receptacle which was to be placed alongside the nest, the 

 eggs to be then lifted carefully into it. On our return the bird was still 

 to be seen sitting on the nest ; and after a little more practice with the 

 hen's egg, the men went up the tree, whilst I anxiously waited below. The 

 plan turned out quite a success, and both eggs were brought safely down. 

 The next step was to procure one of the parent birds. This could easily 

 have been done while the men were up the tree, but after the eggs had been 

 taken both birds disappeared. One however (male) returned and was 

 bagged for identification purposes. The Burmans reported the nest to be 

 about a foot in diameter and lined with green leaves. The eggs which 

 were well incubated are a dull chalky white and measure I'Sxl'S and 

 l-48xl-2o. 



I think that B. lophotes is fairly plentiful in this part of the Shan States, 

 as I saw one at Thondoung one evening sitting on a dead branch of a tree, 

 and last year on the march up to Maymyo I saw a pair of birds in the 

 jungle near where the Zig-Zag mounts the Ghats. 



